SALES MANAGEMENT - 16MBAMM401

UNIT -02
SELLING SKILLS AND SELLING STRATEGIES
Selling is one of the most challenging professions of the modern world. While a few people
do very well in the world of selling, many believe that selling is becoming an exceedingly difficult
job. Success in selling determines the fate of an organisation. Business organisations are set up to
generate profits by satisfying the needs and demands of customers. In the process of delivering goods
and services, business organizations utilize the available resources including human resource, and
develop business systems to continuously provide utilities to the customers.

products and services can be delivered to potential customers in two ways. Indirect marketing
involves a process of intermediation in which a third party takes the product and delivers it to the
customer on behalf of the producer, with a share in the profits. However, in direct marketing
organisations deliver products and services to the customers directly through salespeople. The
salespeople represent the company to the customer. If the salespeople are equipped with the required
skills and have the desired aptitude for selling, they contribute to the achievement of the higher
organisational goals.

Salespeople with proper selling skills not only close the sales and utilize the selling time
effectively but also are able to project a positive image of the company through their professional
approach. Effective selling skills also help an organisation in achieving its long term business
objectives. Research has identified that it costs less to sell products to existing customers than to new
customers. So companies are looking to establish long-term relationships with their customers so that
they can provide better and value added products to the customers over a long period of time.
Similarly, when efficient salespeople interact with customers, they understand their needs and
problems better and provide feedback to the company so that the company can be proactively
innovative in its products, processes, and service commitments, and the organisation will be more
adaptable to changes in the customer world.

Success in selling does not depend on some inborn quality; rather it is based on application of
certain skills and development of commitment and professionalism in selling.

What makes a good salesperson?

This question is haunting to researchers and practitioners and there is no satisfactory answer that
would be applicable to every person involved in the world of selling. However, both research and
practice suggest that salespeople can acquire selling skills and achieve exemplary success.

SELLING AND BUYING STYLES

All customers do not buy the products in the same way. The buying styles vary depending upon the
buyer's capability to pay, the quantity of purchase, the buyer's ability to take risk, the bargaining
power of the buyer in the market, the competitive landscape in the industry, and many other factors.
Research has shown that the way people respond to an innovation varies in the marketplace.

Adopter categories

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People who are adventurous and have high risk capital are overnight buyers. These buyers are the
Innovators in the market place, who mostly buy on impulse and consider non-functional reasons for
making a choice. This set of people followed by another group who accept new products and
innovations after observing the innovators using it. These people are called as Early Adopters.
Majority of such people take time to make a buying decision. There are other two groups of people
who buy new product after considering success rate of such products in market place. These people
are called as Early Majority and Late Majority. There is another set of people who buy only after
everybody has started using the product. These laggards start buying the product when another new
product is on the doorstep.

Similarly, the customer's personality traits also influence the pattern and style of buying. The risk-
averse customers always take multiple variables into consideration before they make a final decision,
whereas there are buyers who buys on impulse and do not bargain mush while making a purchase. In
business-to-business selling also the buying styles are different. Many government organisations
always go for buying the lowest-priced commodity irrespective of the quality level, whereas quality
conscious organisations may not give much importance to the price factor in buying solutions.

Blake and Mouton distinguish various selling styles by analysing a salesperson's concern for the sales
and the customer. How much concern the salesperson has for selling his product and what level of
importance he gives to the customer are the two dimensions used for developing the matrix of selling
styles. Typically, a sales person who only pushes his product without considering the buyer's needs
has more concern for sale. on the other hand, a sales person who always responds to customer's needs
and presents his product as the optimum solution to the customer's problem has higher concern for the
customer.

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The above grid explains that the process of selling is dyadic in nature. The success of selling
largely depends on the matching of buyer and seller characteristics as well as of buying and selling
styles.

The salespeople in position (1,1) believe in the physical display of the product and assume
that customers will buy it themselves if the logistics are managed. This is possible in a market where
customers do not have many choices or in product categories in which customers do not place any
importance to issue like product demonstration and briefing by the salespeople.

Fast moving consumer goods are in this category where the advertising and other promotion
programmes bring the customer to the retail counter (by pull method) and the store presence and
visibility make the brand sell itself.

Here the sales force has the least role to play as they do the business of physical transfer of
the goods to the customer contact point. Similarly, in a market where the demand exceeds supply so
much that the customer is bound to take what is being offered, this kind of selling will be very
effective as it involves very low cost due to non-use of advance selling techniques and few or no calls
by the salespeople.

Salespeople in the (9,1) position are more product-oriented and they always try to push the
product for sale. They try to sell the product without caring for the customer demand patterns. They
feel that it is possible to sell any product. They do not consider the customer's buying intention and do
the hard sell by putting all the pressure to realize a sale.

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The salesperson in the (1,9) position treats himself as a friend of the customer. This is
predominantly the relationship domain and the salespeople are involved in relational selling, where
they try to understand the customer and respond to his feelings and interests so that the salesperson is
able to establish a personal rapport with the customer and realize a sale.

Salespeople in the (9,9) position are problem solvers. They consult with the customer so that
they understand his situation and all his needs, and then suggest a product that can solve his problem.
They work with the customer towards a sound purchase decision on his part that will help him get the
desired results. this is basically consultative selling and is normally seen in the software and
consultation selling industry where the sales people take the note of the customer's briefs and come
with a solution that best fits the customers problem .

A sales person in position (5,5) is a professional who keeps balance between concern for the customer
and concern for the sale. Such sales people use various sales techniques to do prospecting and sales
presentation, and pitch for sales by applying professional sales techniques. Their sales pitch is based
on a blend of personality and product orientation.

Selling Situations
A typical selling situation explains what kind of customers a sales person is going to face and what
kind of sales approach will help him in closing a sale in that situation. there are two forms of selling
situations like maintenance selling and developmental selling.

Maintenance selling:
Maintenance selling involves the art of servicing the existing accounts, securing promotional
cooperation, counting inventory and taking replenishment order , delivering the product. these kinds
of sales people are called client servicing executives who provide services to clients and also take the
orders as and when required. There is no question of prospecting for this kind of sales people as it is
done within the existing customers .

Developmental selling:
Sales people engage in developmental selling are called business development sales executives as
they try to contact the potential customers and build business for the firm. They are the real sales
people who try to do prospecting from the leads either available in the organisation or collected by
them, and then take the prospect through the whole process of selling to realize a sale. In international
selling the overseas sales agents also get involved in identifying prospecting customers and then
selling the products to them. Developmental selling involves locating and qualifying potential buyers,
securing specifications and approvals for the purchase, and closing the sale by getting an actual order.

SELLING SKILLS
The essential skills for successful selling are Communication skills, Listening skills, Conflict
Management and Resolution skills, Negotiation skills, and Problem-solving skills.

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Communication Skills
The ability and expertise to communicate is necessary in selling function. The salespeople should
possess a good vocabulary and express themselves intelligently to the customer. The later element is
necessary mostly in intelligent buying and selling situations, such as business -to-business selling.

The ability to perceive and interpret the customer's verbal and non-verbal clues is also
necessary as it will help in answering the customer's objections and finding out about their purchase
intention. Salespeople should also develop and hone their verbal skills as the quality of voice is an
essential element of the personality of a salesperson and contributes to his success.

The entire business of modern-day sales rests on building a good relationship with customers.
the relationship becomes long-term when it is built on mutual trust. Continuation of a relationship will
largely depend on how this relationship is nurtured and managed by the salespeople and how much
value the customer derives out of the relationship. Research has found out that trust between a buyer
and a seller largely depends on five elements in the salesperson's behaviour:

1. Truth of words communicated by the salesperson

2. Predictability of action
3. Competency (ability/knowledge/resources)
4. Intent or empathy (placing the customer's interest on par with the seller's interest, a
commitment to solving the customer's problem, and responsive to the customer's cause)
5. Likeability (It is an emotional issue and difficult to clearly define, but can be understood as a
perception of commonality by both the parties.)

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These five elements of trust revolve around the communication, both verbal and nonverbal
communication. The truth of words is established by the words and follow-up actions a salesperson
uses with the customer. The salesperson must demonstrate his technical command of products and
applications to show his level of competence.

Empathy or intent means the salesperson understands buyers' needs and equates them with his
own needs. Likeability is validated with courtesy and politeness, commonality of interest and positive
emotional feelings.

Unless the salespeople communicate superiority of their products and services to potential
customers, the products will not sell. To persuade potential customers about the superiority of their
products, salespeople must be able to identify accurately the needs and wants of the customers.

Therefore, salespeople must listen closely to what customers are saying, analyze their spoken
words, and be attentive to their non-verbal expressions, such as body gestures, postures, vocal
tonalities, and overall appearance to understand customer needs and desires. Salespeople should
communicate effectively by organising their thoughts and presenting their products and services to the
customers.

The Communication Process

A salesperson needs to understand the communication process before he develops his own
strategies for successful selling. Communication is the exchange of idea and information between two
parties. the communication process is defined as "a set of activities and systems integrated for an
exchange of ideas, concepts, information, and knowledge between a sender and a receiver through
alternative channels". In this process the receiver decodes the message and sends feedback to the
sender so that the sender can know the effectiveness and response of his communication inputs. Noise
and disturbances are interspersed in the communication process, which hinder the effectiveness of
reception.

Intended Feedback Perceived

message message

Encoding
Decoding
NOISE

Sent
Received
message
message
Channel

Sender's domain Receiver's domain

Sales communication can both personal and non personal. Non personal communication involves
newspaper, television, and other mass media.

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A typical communication process begins with a source, which in this case is the salesperson
himself, who provides the relevant product and service information. The source has thoughts and
ideas to communicate to the audience, which have to be encoded in a presentable form by the sender.
Sales presentations, sales literature sent through direct mail, telephone calls, and selling information
over the internet are examples of communication and information dissemination in the selling process.
For this purpose, the message has to be encoded into a presentable format that can be transmitted to
the customers. This involves translating ideas and thoughts into symbols, words, and pictures to
meaningful communication patterns. The words and symbols used by the source should communicate
the same meaning to the receiver.

The salesperson should avoid big, confusing expressions or jargons, and use words that carry
some meaning to the customers. The active voice should be used to express ideas and communicate
with the audience.

The dress code, body movements, voice intonations, and expressions of emotions like
laughter and surprise also constitute part of the communication process. The accuracy of the reception
of the message also depends on the level of available noise. Noise is the unnecessary factor that
hinders the smooth transmission of message between the receiver and the sender.

Managing Body Language

Salespeople can take care of their verbal and non-verbal communication while making sales
presentations. The non-verbal cues taken together are called the body language, or the 'visible code',
the various elements are as follows:

a. Personal appearance
b. Posture
c. Gesture
d. Facial expressions
e. Eye contact
f. Space distancing

Listening Skills
The sales manager has to be a very good listener and use his listening skills to lead towards sales
realization. It is generally observed that salespeople spend more time in receiving communication and
information than in transmitting it.

Poor listening skills may make a sales manager miss subtle issues in customer interaction, and this
may lead to non-resolution of customers' problems and thus a poor level of sales realization. Yet
listening is one of the most underrated skills in the sales world.

A good listener welcomes new ideas, and stays informed, up-to-date, and out of danger in an
organisation. Good listening also enhances the impact of what the salesperson peaks to the customer,
and increases the ability to negotiate with customers.

The Process of Listening

There are five related activities which occur in sequence in the listening process.

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Attention

Interpretation

Remembrance

Evaluations

Response action

The Listening Process

In the first stage, the customer physically responds to the message and takes note of it. This reception
can be blocked by noise, inattention, psychological barriers, and impaired hearing. This stage is called
as the Attention stage.

The Interpretation stage calls for assigning meaning to sounds according the customer's own values,
beliefs, expectations, roles, needs and wants, and ideas about himself, products, and the world. The
salesperson's frame of reference may be quite different from the customer's frame of refernce; so the
salesperson needs to determine what customer really means.

The next is Remembrance stage, where the messages re stored for future use by the seller as well as
the customers. As the customer listens, he takes note or draws a mental line about the product and
service offered for sale. In the Evaluation stage the salesperson applies his thinking skills to weigh
the buyer's remarks and queries. The salesperson should separate facts from opinions, and evaluate
the quality of the judgements.

The last stage is Response Action stage in which one responds after evaluating the receiver's message.
If the salesperson is communicating in a small group or a one-to-one conversation, the initial response
is generally a verbal feedback. In large groups, it can be in the form of an applause, laughter, or
silence. Later on the salesperson can work on what he has heard.

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Levels of Listening
The best way to know your customers is to listen to them. There are five levels of listening that the
sales manager should understand;

Feedback

Paraphrasing

Clarifications

Empathetic listening

Active Listening

Feedback is fundamentally the reaction of the customer to a sales call. In Paraphrasing, a salesperson
tries to paraphrase the question by mirroring the questioner's point. The next level is the Clarification
of the issues. It involves working a little harder with the customer's words to identify his real
concerns. Empathetic listening is the level in which the salesperson tries to show that he understands
the feelings of the questioner (customer). The empathetic listener finds similar emotions in his or her
own experience and shares them with the questioner. Active listening is the last stage, in which the
salesperson identifies the emotions underlying the customer's words. This is potentially the most
powerful listening response, because it is usually the emotion behind the phrases that prompted the
customer's objections in the first place.

Conflict Management Skills

Conflicts exists in every organisation. Conflict in sales organisation is more evident than in
any other organisation. This is due to the fact that there is always conflict of interest among people at
different levels as the goals are different at each level of the organisation.

Conflict is a form of relating or interacting where the sales manager finds himself under some
sort of perceived threat to his individual or collective goals. These goals are impersonal in nature. The
process of identifying the nature of the conflict and taking corrective action so that the conflict will
not emerge in a similar situation is termed as conflict management.

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The perceived threats may be either real or imaginary. This process begins when one party
perceives that another party has negatively affected, or is about to negatively affect, something that
the first party cares about. Conflict is a natural and inevitable outcome in any group. Conflict is not
only a positive force in a group but it is absolutely necessary for a group to perform effectively.

Conflicts can be classified as :-

i. Functional conflicts - supports the goals of the group and improves the performance.
ii. Dysfunctional conflicts - hinders group performance.
iii. Task conflicts - are disputes over the content and goals of the work.
iv. Relationship conflict - tussle based on interpersonal relationship.
v. Process conflict - fight over how work gets done.

Conflict Resolution Process

The problem of conflict starts with the perception of conflict. This is where one or both of the parties
experience a sense of unease often characterized by a sense of feeling of frustration, anger, and
anxiety. It can also be a sense of disorientation and confusion as they may feel a discrepancy in the
levels of interests, emotions, and value orientations. The conflict management process can be one-to-
one through mutual discussions and negotiation, can be representational between two parties, or can
be via third party interventions. Various methods of handling conflict situations are explained as
follows:

Methods of Conflict Resolution

Following are various accepted and standard methods of conflict resolution:

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 Competing: Each party pursues its own interests, regardless of the impact on the other
party.
 Collaborating: Both parties in a conflict try to satisfy fully the concerns of both
parties.
 Avoiding: One party withdraws from or suppresses the conflict.
 Accommodating: One party agrees to place the opponent's interests above its own.
 Compromising: Both the parties agree to give up something.

Nader and Todd in their book 'The Disputing Process Law in Ten Societies' have identified
eight procedures usually used to handle conflict:

1. Lumping: Refers to the failure of one party in a conflict to pursue their complaint. The
issue is simply ignored and the relationship with the offending party continues.
2. Avoidance: the relationship is called off. The decision to avoid conflict is usually
based on the relative powerlessness of one party, or the social, economical, and
emotional costs involved in the relationship.
3. Coercion: is imposition of the outcome by one party on the other. Here there is a level
of threat and force involved, and such practices are widespread in business situations.
4. Conciliation: means bringing together both the parties in a conflict for the purpose of
settling the dispute. The conciliator does not have to pay an active role, although he
may do so by the request of one or both the parties during the negotiations.
5. Mediation: involves a third party who intervenes in a dispute to help the parties to
reach at an agreement. The mediator may be appointed by the disputing parties or by
another party with adequate authority, like the government. The parties in the dispute
agree to the mediator's intervention.
6. Arbitration: here both the parties consent to the intervention of a third party whose
judgement they must agree to accept beforehand.
7. Adjudication: here, the third party has the authority to intervene to make a decision,
and to enforce the decision on both the parties irrespective of the parties' wish. The
judiciary is the best example of this.
8. Negotiation: refers to the mutual settlement of conflict by both the parties without
intervention of any third party. Both the parties reach at a conclusion not because it is
required by law, but because they wish to settle the dispute and work together.

Negotiation skills
Successful negotiation is an attempt by two parties to achieve mutually acceptable solutions, which
does not result in a winner and a loser.

Bargaining defined as a process where at least two parties are involved, the parties have some or one
conflict of interest between them, they are at least temporarily joined together in a special kind of
voluntary relationship, and the activity in the relationship concerns the division or exchange of one or
more specific resources and/or resolution of one or more intangible issues among the parties. The
activity usually involves the presentation of demands or proposals by one party and evaluation of
those by the other, followed by concessions and counter-proposals.

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Formulation of a Bargaining Strategy

Once a salespeople are clear about the objectives of negotiation and have analyzed the
probable objectives, they should be ready to formulate a bargaining strategy for achieving the desired
results. The salesperson should keep his negotiation strategy simple and flexible. A bargaining
strategy helps him to hide his negative emotions and frustrations while negotiating. He should prepare
a written schedule for briefing and rehearsing tactics. bargaining tactics are the moves that a
salesperson uses during negotiations to close a deal to the benefit of both the parties. A bargaining
strategy is an overall policy designed to achieve a number of specified objectives through the
process of negotiation.

Bargaining involves strategic decisions before the actual bargaining starts and tactical
decisions during the bargaining session. A bargaining strategy is an overall approach to achieving the
negotiator's objectives.

Strategy of Principled Negotiations

Companies follow the strategy of principled negotiations as an effective tool for closing
sales. The followers of this strategy will have a higher level of success despite the other party
following any other bargaining strategy.

The strategy of principled negotiations means to decide on issues on the basis of their merits
rather than through haggling. It suggests that you look for mutual gains wherever possible, and that
where your interests conflict, you should insist that the results be based on some fair standards
independent of the will of the either side. The method of principled negotiations is hard on merits and
soft on people.

Propounded principles for principled negotiations that have a high probability of succeding in a
negotiations are as follows:

i. Separate the people from the problem

ii. Focus on interests, not on positions.
iii. Invent options for mutual gains
iv. Insist on objective criteria.

Bargaining Tactics
Bargaining tactics are the manoeuvres made by salespeople at specific points in the process
of bargaining. The basic objective of using bargaining tactics is to clinch the deal for the best
solution for both the parties. A perfect salesperson has to master the art and technique of
tactical bargaining.

Tactical considerations and strategies

Let the other party have it in your own way

The principled negotiation strategy allows the negotiator to follow the tactics mentioned
above, but in many instances the other party may not be following the strategy of principled

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negotiations. In such situations, one needs to follow five principal steps to break the impasse.
The whole idea of these five steps is to resort to indirect action rather than taking the other
party head on. It is the art of letting the other party have it in your own way.

Visit the Balcony

In this case the salesperson imagines as if he was bargaining on a stage and then goes to the
balcony to see the things happening on the stage. This is a metaphor used for the mental
attitude of detachment. Standing on the balcony, the sales manager can evaluate the conflict
as if he is a third party who wants to settle the issue.

Step to their side

In many instances people do not negotiate rationally. It is sometimes worth trying by the salespeople
also. To cope with the irrationality of the counterpart, the sales manager has to be all the more
purposeful and rational. Dealing rationally with irrationality often evokes reciprocation from the other
party. It is also possible that a perfectly rational perception of the other party looks mistakenly
irrational to the salespeople. So before engaging in principled negotiation, a favourable climate should
be developed, so that the other party's anger and fears are removed.

Reframing rather than rejection

The next step is to focus on each party's interest. Instead of rejecting the other party's viewpoint
outright, which makes them more stubborn with those ideas, the sales manager can direct their
attention to the problem of satisfying each party's interests.

Let them take ownership

Under this strategy the sale manager constructs an agreement that the opponent can call a victory.
This is achieved by involving the opponent in drafting the agreement, which satisfies more than their
monetary needs.

Educating them to senses

If the buyer has a feeling that he can still win without the negotiations, the sales manager should
educate the opponent by asking reality-testing questions and demonstrating his BATNA.

Negotiation Tactics
Following are the list of tactics used during negotiations, and various strategies to counter them.

1. Acting crazy
2. Auctioning
3. The good guy - bad guy routine
4. Big Pot
5. Budget Bogey
6. Get a prestigious ally
7. Escalation
8. The well is dry

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9. Limited authority
10. Whipsaw/Auction
11. Divide and conquer
12. Reunion
13. Deadline
14. Sticks and stones
15. Get lost/ stall for time
16. Take it or leave it
17. Wet Noodle
18. Veiled Threat
19. let's split the difference
20. Play the Devil's advocate
21. Trial Balloon
22. Surprises
23. What's the rock bottom price
24. Adversarial negotiating tactics

Problem Solving Skills

Besides the negotiation skills, one also needs problem solving skills for effective selling. The
relational and consultative selling approach suggests that a salesperson should not be a mere order
taker; he should rather act as a problem-solver and a consultant to the customer. These roles are more
significant for high-tech selling and business to business selling.

Most of the real-world sales problems have many solutions. The objective is to pick up the best
solution for the customer and organisational problems so that the salesperson becomes an engine for
growth of the enterprise rather than only a person in charge of transfer of ownership of products and
services. If we can apply our problem solving skills better, the solutions will be more effective for the
organisation.

Effective problem solvers develop mindsets and habits that help them in handling difficult problems.
Stephen Covey in his famous book The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People lists seven habits that
make people more effective problem-solvers. These habits includes the habit of being proactive,
beginning with an end in mind, putting first things first, always thinking win-win, seeking first to
understand and then be understood, synergising, and renewal.

Habit 1 Be Proactive. take an initiative and make things happen. Aggressively seek new ideas and
innovations. Do not let a negative environment affect your behaviour and decision making. Work on
things that you can change. If you make a mistake, acknowledge and learn from it.

Habit 2 Begin with an end in mind. know where you are going and make sure all the steps you take
are in the right direction. First, determine the right things to accomplish and then how to accomplish
them best. Write a personal mission statement describing where you want to go, what you want to be,
and how to accomplish these things.

Habit 3 Put first things first. List your top priorities each day for the upcoming week, and schedule
your time to work on them. Continually review and prioritize your goals. Say no to doing unimportant
tasks. Focus on the important tasks, the ones that will have the desired impact if carefully thought out
and planned.

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Habit 4 Think Win-Win. Win -Win is the frame of mind that seeks mutual benefits for all the people
involved in a solution and agreement. Identify the key issues and results that would constitute a fully
acceptable solution to all. Make all involved in a decision feel good about the decision and committed
to a plan of action.

Habit 5 Seek first to understand, then to be understood. Learn as much as you can about the
situation. Try to see the problem from the other person's point of view. Be willing to be adaptable in
seeking to be understand. Present things logically, not emotionally. Be credible, empathetic, and
logical.

Habit 6 Synergize. Make the whole greater than the sum of its parts. Value the differences in the
people you work with. Foster open and honest communication. Help everyone bring out the best in
everyone else.

Habit 7 Renewal. Renew four dimensions of your nature. The first dimension is physical, which can
be improved by exercise, nutrition, and stress management. The second dimension is mental, which
can be renewed by reading, thinking, visualizing, planning, and writing. The third dimension is
spiritual, which can be enhanced by value clarifications and commitments, study, and meditation. The
social and emotional dimension can be enhanced by service, empathy, self-esteem, and synergy.

Problem Solving Process

The problem solving process brings logically into decision making, though certain decisions
taken on the basis of intuitions may also work.

At the beginning, you should collect and analyze data, and talk to people familiar with
problems of similar nature. With the same problem recurring in the organisation, if possible, the sales
manager should view the problem and confirm all the findings. The problem solver should list every
detail that he can use to explain the problem. He should determine what information is missing and
what information is extraneous in nature. Using all such details, he should draw a sketch of the
situation or problem.

Define the Problem

Generate alternate solutions

Decide the solution

Implement the solution

Evaluate the solution

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The Selling Process

Definition: Selling Process

The selling process is the series of steps followed by a salesperson while selling a product. Selling
Process is a complete cycle which starts from identifying the customers to closing the deal with them.
It is more relevant is B2B business sales where the sales cycle is not short and might take a longer
duration to close. In B2C the selling process may be transient and shorter.

Selling Process Steps

The process of selling a product covers various steps like prospecting, pre-approach, approach,
presentation, handling objections, closing & follow-up. The 7 steps of selling process as explained
below in detail.

Pre sale preparation: In this stage, the salesperson prepares himself with adequate
knowledge about the product he will sell, the company he will represent, the market in which
he will sell, the competitor product and prices, the category of customers or segments he will
target, and the various selling techniques he will apply during the sale.

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Product Knowledge
- Features
- Benefits
- Styles
- Origin
- Price

Company Competitors
Knowledge Knowledge
- History - Industry
Structure
- Finances Salesperson's - Market share
- Management
knowledge -Market
- Size Behaviour
- Policies and
universe
- Other
Procedures policies

PROSPECTING

A salesman has to seek potential customers who are his prospects i.e., probable buyers. A
prospect has unsatisfied need, ability to buy and willingness to buy. Prospecting relates to
locating prospects. They can be through present customers, other salesman, phone directories,
or by direct cold canvassing. These prospects must, of course, be accessible to salesman.
Thus, prospecting is similar to the seeking function for the total marketing activities.

The Process of prospecting

identify and define the prospects

Search for sources of potential accounts

Qualify the prospects from the suspects

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Methods of Prospecting

 Cold Canvassing
 Endless chain customer referral
 Prospect pool
 Centres of Influence
 Non competing sales force

 Observation
 Friends and acquaintances
 Lists and directories
 Direct mail
 Telemarketing
 Trade shows and demonstrations

PRE-APPROACH

After locating a prospect, salesman should find out his needs and problems, his preferences
and behaviour etc. The product may have to be tailored to the specific requirement of
customer. On the basis of adequate information of the customer’s wants and desires,
salesman can prepare his plan of sales presentation or interview. The sales presentation
should match to the needs of the individual prospect. It should enable the salesman to handle
his prospect smoothly through the buying process, i.e., during, the sales talk.

A Checklist for Pre-approach Information

1. What is the size of the business?
2. What product lines do they sell and what markets do they serve?
3. Who are the responsible executives and key personnel in the company?
4. What are the buying routines and procedures followed in the client organisation?
5. Who is the competitor in the segment?
6. Do they have any business dealing with your company?
7. From whom are the customers buying now?
8. What are the levels of volume possible?
9. Where, when, why, and by whom will the products be used?
10. What are the prospects of developing future sales from the client?

APPROACH
The next step is approach where the salesman comes face to face with the prospect. The
approach has two parts, i.e., obtaining an interview, the first contact. He may use for this,
telephone, reference or an introduction from another customer; and his business card. The

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salesman must be able to attract the prospect’s attention and get him interested in the product.
It is very important to avoid being dismissed before he is able to present his product.

This step is crucial because in this step the salesperson tries to get the customer's attention
and generate interest in him for the sales presentation. It is necessary on the part of the
salesperson to fix an appointment with the customer at their desired place and time and place
himself for the presentation.

The appointment can be taken over phone, mail, personal visit, and third person reference,
sending introduction cards or by e-mail. Customers visit without prior contacts are called as
cold calls. The purpose of a cold call is to undertake a brief contact with the customer at his
place of availability or to fix up a date for future contact. in cold calls, the salesperson should
try to impress the customer with his manners and body language rather than any sales talk.

Probing is the art of asking the right questions at the right time. it will occur at many points
during the selling process. It involves gathering primary data that could not be collected prior
to the sales approach.

The salesperson should be careful about some of the commonly occurring mistakes, such as;

 Disregarding the concept of first impression

 Forgetting the goal of obtaining the order
 Selling the company's image than the products
 lack of responses to needs and objections of customers
 Overcomplicating with technical and managerial jargons
 Relying on product literature for product information
 Talking and arguing instead of listening
 Brushing of questions and objections
 Failing to ask for the order

SALES PRESENTATION

After the salesman has found a prospect and he has matched the customer’s wants with his
product, he becomes ready to make a sales presentation. The sales presentations is closely
related to the buying process of customers. The sales interview should generally go according
to AIDA theory (i.e., Attention, Interest, Desire and Action).

Attention is attracted and interest is gained. The salesman at this point can increase the
interest through smart and lively sales talk together with proper demonstration. Sometimes,
visual aids are used in sales demonstration. These are common for capital goods or
machineries.

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After explaining the product characteristics and expected benefits, the salesman should find
out customer’s reactions. The prospective customer’s all queries and doubts must be clearly
answered. The salesman should find the customer satisfied. A satisfied sales presentation
must be clear, complete, assertive about product’s superior performance and be able to gain
the confidence of the prospect.

Qualities of good sales presentation

1. Tangibility - The proposal should enhance and support the salesperson's message
and invite readership.
2. Assurances - The proposal should build trust and confidence in your ability to
deliver, implement, and results in substantial benefits.
3. Responsiveness - The proposal should invite purchase proposals from the
customers in a timely manner.
4. Reliability - The sales proposal should identify solutions to customer problems and
strategies to achieve the customer's demand.
5. Empathy - The proposal should confirm the salesperson's understanding of the
customer's business and needs.

HANDLING CUSTOMER OBJECTIONS

At any stage of sales interview, the prospect may attempt to postpone the purchase or
resist purchase. A good salesman must consider an objection as an indication of how the
prospect’s mind is working. The clever salesman should welcome an objection, interpret it
correctly and will avoid it tactfully, without arguing with the customer.

Methods of handling customer objections:

The salesperson should respond to customer objections tactfully and take them to the next
stage of sale. though there is no specific formula for handling the objections, some of the
following methods will help the salesperson in handling the objections.

1. Superior feature method - This method allows the salesperson to accept the
objections and persuade the customers through providing additional advantages or
benefits of his product, which may compensate the objections raised by consumer,
thus allowing him to buy the product.
2. Yes...but method - This is an ancient method of handling objections in which the
salesperson agrees with the objections at the beginning and then slowly makes an
effort to remove the objections from the customer's mind by tactful handling of the
arguments.
3. Reverse English method - This method helps the salesperson to change customer
objections into the basis of buying. The salesperson pitches his presentation on the

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objections raised by the customer and then solves them through offering benefits to
the customer only on those points raised by the customer as objections.
4. Indirect denial method -In this method the salesperson denies the objections cleverly
but indirectly by giving affirmative answer to the objections. Most of the salespersons
use this method so that the customer does not feel offended .
5. Pass out method - In this method the salesperson does not pay any attention to the
customer objections. And expresses neutral opinion. When objections are baseless, it
is suggested to pass them off without attending to them in details. The customer may
feel neglected and if not handled properly the salesperson may loose an opportunity to
realize the sale.
6. Comparison method - In this method the salesperson demonstrates similar products
of other producers before the customers, and tries to remove their objections by
comparing the benefits of his product with those of others.
7. Direct denial method - In this method the salesperson rejects the customers
objections outright.. He turns down the customer objections by calling them
absolutely wrong, and then builds up his presentation. This method is mostly
applicable to a sellers market.
8. Another angle method - In this method the salesperson advises the customers to look
from another angle, which is positive for the product, rather than making looking at it
from a negative angle. The salesperson tries to make a positive impact on the
customer buy enumerating the number of advantages that outnumbered the
disadvantages.
9. Narrative method - In this method the sales person uses a story to remove customer
objections. He listens to the objections systematically and sympathetically, and the
gives his responses in the form of a story or description that would appeal to the
customers. The customers get the answers to their objections from the story and
develop a positive interest in the product.
10. Testimonial method - in this method the salesperson presents the sales message by
referring to celebrities and persons of importance as the users of the product. Most of
the sales people use this technique celebrity endorsement to counter customer
objections.
11. Question or Why method - In this method the salesperson asks questions again and
again without any break to the customer against his objections and tries to get suitable
answers to those objections from the customers themselves. This way he occupies the
customer's seat and customer to be the sales person. The customer finally adopt a
defensive attitude and the objections never sustains themselves.

CLOSING THE SALE

Closing the sale is the goal in any selling process for a sales person, which comes after the
objections are effectively handled, and the customer is satisfied with the presentations and is
ready to place an order. How many benefits are sufficient for closing a sale? There is no
specific answer to this question as it depends on the nature of the product, number of
competing products available in the market, the elasticity of demand, and also each selling

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situation. Many salespeople are scared to ask a question like 'will you buy?' Because there is
a fear that the deal will be rejected. Similarly, customers do not come out positively to offer a
buying. In this situation, it is important to use closing techniques other than the direct closing
techniques.

 Method of closing the sale –

 Assumptive close - assumes that the sale is made so that the

salesperson proceeds to issues such as spelling of names, proper
address, quantity desired, size, and color. It also may concern the
details about installation and demonstration.
 Negative close - occurs when the sales person urges the customer
to buy immediately because the product is in short supply or there
is likely to be a price increase.
 Special concession close - are used commonly in grocery stores.
 Caution method - the salesperson first makes the customer cautious
about the availability of the product or the period of availability
and the suggests the close or request the customer to place the
order.
 Implied consent method - the salesperson believes that the
customer is satisfied with the presentation and may place the order
at the end of the presentation.
 Special induced method- the salesperson reminds the customer
about the promotional schemes offered by the seller and suggests
the customers to aware himself or herself of the benefit by placing
the order.
 Direct order method - the customer will come forward to place the
order without any further persuasion and the salesperson takes the
order.
 Choice narrowing method - the salesperson presents a product with
its various specifications- designs, colors, size - so that the
customer may be able to narrow down his choice.
 Ownership suggestion method -the salesperson suggests the
customer that he should buy the product to impress upon the social
standing he has in the social hierarchy.
 Comparison method - the salesperson asks the customer to
compare his own products with that of the competitors on objective
features.

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 Emotional method - the salesperson creates emotion on matters of

social interest. Such a break in the presentation may change the
course of negotiation and may be able to convince customers who
are sensitive to social issues.

FOLLOW UP ACTION
The objective of follow-up action is manifold. This helps the salesperson to evaluate the
competitive sales moves, generate additional leads from satisfied customers, and also helps
the company in the idea of cross selling and up-selling. A follow up normally begins by
thanking the customer after the sale and, in case of a failure in sale, it helps in building up a
customer interest and in generating repeat sales after a deal. It also helps in maintaining
goodwill and taking corrective actions for the promises made during the sales presentation
and discrepancy arising out of non performance of a part or the whole of the product.

After sales service is an important part of the selling process. It assures that the order will not
be cancelled and it paves the way for building confidence and establishing relationships with
customer for future revenue. It costs five times as much to get a new customer as it costs to
retain an existing one for an additional sale.

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